Harold Perry Erskine

Harry "Hal" Perry Erskine (June 5, 1879 – January 5, 1951) was an American sculptor and architect.^[1] He was known for his garden features and realist figural sculptures.

Erskine was born in Racine, Wisconsin on June 5, 1879.^[2][3][4] His parents were Emma Payne and Charles E. Eskine, treasurer of the J. I. Case Plow Works in Racine.^[1][5] In 1892, Erskine and his father explored western North Carolina on horseback to find property for the family's summer home.^[1] They purchased a property near Tryon, North Carolina.^[1]

Erskine attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts.^[2] He attended Williams College, graduating with a B.A. in 1902.^[6] While at Williams, he joined the fraternity of Delta Psi (St. Anthony Hall).^[6] After college, Erskine worked for the J. I Case Plow Works in Racine.^[5]

He then studied architecture at Columbia University, followed by four years studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France.^[1][2][7] He also studied architecture in Greece and Italy.^[7]

Erskine was a partner in the archtectural frim Erskine & Blagden, later Hazzard, Erskine & Blagdon, in New York City.^[2][8][7] His practice focused on industrial and mercantile building.^[5] His firm designed Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York.^[2] In 1908, he designed the Congregational Church in Tryon, North Carolina.^[1]

After World War I, Erskine resigned from the architectural practice.^[9] In 1927, he designed Lynncote Lodge, a Tudor Revival style lodge on his family's property in Tryon, now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Erskine was a lieutenant, captain, and major of infantry in the Thirty-third Division during World War I.^[2] He graduated from the General Staff School in France in 1918.^[2] He received a Silver Star in 1918.^[2]

After World War I, Erskine focused on sculpting and art.^[9] He designed numerous fountains, garden sculptures, memorials, and portraits.^[2] For sculptures, he preferred working in soapstone, including the works "Cloud Goddess", "The Eve", "The Mowgli", and "Nephele".^[9] He was known for his realist figural sculptures.^[3] In November 1925, Erskine had a solo show at the Feragil Galleries in New York City.^[9]

In 1937, Erskine won the competition to design a decorative panel for the Dry Dock Savinings Bank on Lexington Avenue and 59th Street in New York City.^[2][10] Erskine developed a technique for coloring stone, used for the relief.^[5] He also created the Wilton Merle-Smith Memorial for the Central Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and the Walter Travis memorial at the Garden City Golf Club.^[10] His bust of Carl Akeley is in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History.^[5]

On January 17, 1914, Erskine married Coralie Coudert, a New York City and Newport socialite who had been married twice before.^[11][8][7] She was the daughter of Louis Leonce Coudert, an attorney with Coudert Brothers.^[11][8] She had the reputation as "the best dressed woman in the world".^[12] She divorced Erskine in Paris in 1922 and died in 1935.^[11][13][9]

Erskine was a member of the Beaux Arts Society and the St. Anthony Club of New York.^[8][7] He was a sportsman who hunted in Kenya in 1910 and 1911, and donated big game trophy mounts to the American Museum of Natural History.^[2][8][7] He lived at the Century Club in New York City and at Lynncote, his family's summer estate in Tryon, North Carolina.^[1][2]

Erskine died after a long illness at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, New York, on January 5, 1951, at the age of 72 years.^[2][5] He was buried in Tryon.^[5]